Townies 'hurting' rural areas

LARGE numbers of people want to leave towns and go and live in the countryside, but there aren't enough homes there and this is pricing locals out of the housing market.

The rural idyll remains strong among metropolitan workers who would like to cash in some of the gains they've made in their property but the desire to move away from towns and cities means there are fewer and fewer affordable homes available for local families.

The Countryside Agency says that homelessness is an increasing problem in remoter areas with many young people there forced to move away to afford a home when they start in work.

Pressure from 'incomers' is also evident in a good deal more rural road use, partly due to the trips new arrivals in the countryside make to towns for work and shopping.

The State of the Countryside 2004 report is not all bad news, however, and the report shows that incomers do generate jobs for local people as well as for themselves and that the number of rural businesses is growing faster than in urban areas.

Pam Warhurst, chair of the Countryside Agency, said life in England's countryside is good - for many, but not all.

'There's nothing wrong with wanting a good quality of life - but this pressure on the countryside has an unintended impact. Those who exercise their choice to move can reduce the choices of the less well off in rural areas and affect the character of our countryside.

'That's why it is important to focus on what's been going on, to help national and regional policy-makers better understand the impact of their decisions and initiatives on rural communities and our landscapes and do something about it.

'We need more facts and analysis in place of rhetoric and anecdote. Our new countryside quality indicator will provide the most scientific measure yet of the way our landscape is changing, whether because of the increasing rural population or due to other reasons.'

Warhurst said that some changes, including housing developments, may have harmed the character of the countryside but others, such as the planting of new woodland for 12 community forests, have enhanced their local landscape.

Other findings contained in the Countryside Agency's report are as follows:

• The rural population grew on average by more than 81,000 (0.7%) a year compared with some 48,000 (0.1%) a year in urban areas between 1981 and 2002.

• Net migration from urban to rural districts is estimated at 115,000 people a year in the 12 months to June 2002.

• Rural people tend to live longer and have better health than urban dwellers, health services match national target standards but accessibility barriers remain.

• In six out of ten key services there has been a slight decline (1-2%) in their geographical availability to rural households, but there is some evidence that this is due in part to more people moving to relatively remote areas.